WASHINGTON, DC – TransCanada, the company behind the rejected Keystone XL
tar sands pipeline today sent a letter to the US State Department announcing
its intention to circumvent US environmental review and build the southern
portion of the proposed crude oil pipeline from Cushing, OK, to Port Arthur,
TX. In the month since President Obama denied the permit the company has undertaken
an unprecedented lobbying and public relations effort to gain approval for the
pipeline.

In response, Michael Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director, issued
the following statement:

“TransCanada is hell
bent on bringing tar sands, the world’s dirtiest oil, through America to reach
foreign markets. They can’t wait for a fair, scientific environmental review they
know their pipeline would fail. So we see dirty political tricks, dirty PR
tricks, and, now, this dirty trick to build the pipeline piecemeal.

“With TransCanada it’s
‘safety last.’ The first US Keystone pipeline averaged a leak a month. But the company
can’t wait to divert tar sands crude oil from the Midwest to the Gulf, raising
American oil prices and, likely, also gasoline prices. This Oklahoma to Texas segment
of the Keystone XL pipeline will mean more tar sands converted to diesel and available
for export overseas.

“With this announcement TransCanada is telling
the Americans that it is above the law. The company did not expect public scrutiny
on this project, but the American people are watching and we are unwilling to
sacrifice American farmers and ranchers, and the drinking water for millions of
Americans whose water supplies lie below or downstream of this dangerous
pipeline.”